3。ThattheWantsofthePeopleintheSoutharedifferentfromthoseoftheNorth。InEuropethereisakindofbalancebetweenthesouthernandnorthernnations。Thefirsthaveeveryconvenienceoflife，andfewofitswants：thelasthavemanywants，andfewconveniences。Toonenaturehasgivenmuch，anddemandsbutlittle；totheothershehasgivenbutlittle，anddemandsagreatdeal。Theequilibriumismaintainedbythelazinessofthesouthernnations，andbytheindustryandactivitywhichshehasgiventothoseinthenorth。Thelatterareobligedtoundergoexcessivelabour，withoutwhichtheywouldwanteverything，anddegenerateintobarbarians。Thishasneutralisedslaverytothepeopleofthesouth：astheycaneasilydispensewithriches，theycanmoreeasilydispensewithliberty。Butthepeopleofthenorthhaveneedofliberty，forthiscanbestprocurethemthemeansofsatisfyingallthosewantswhichtheyhavereceivedfromnature。Thepeopleofthenorth，then，areinaforcedstate，iftheyarenoteitherfreeorbarbarians。Almostallthepeopleofthesouthare，insomemeasure，inastateofviolence，iftheyarenotslaves。
4。TheprincipalDifferencebetweentheCommerceoftheAncientsandtheModerns。Theworldhasfounditself，fromtimetotime，indifferentsituations；bywhichthefaceofcommercehasbeenaltered。ThetradeofEuropeis，atpresent，carriedonprincipallyfromthenorthtothesouth；andthedifferenceofclimateisthecausethattheseveralnationshavegreatoccasionforthemerchandiseofeachother。Forexample，theliquorsofthesouth，whicharecarriedtothenorth，formacommercelittleknowntotheancients。Thustheburdenofvessels，whichwasformerlycomputedbymeasuresofcorn，isatpresentdeterminedbytunsofliquor。
Theancientcommerce，sofarasitisknowntous，wascarriedonfromoneportintheMediterraneantoanother；andwasalmostwhollyconfinedtothesouth。Nowthepeopleofthesameclimate，havingnearlythesamethingsoftheirown，havenotthesameneedoftradingamongthemselvesaswiththoseofadifferentclimate。ThecommerceofEuropewasthereforeformerlylessextendedthanatpresent。
ThisdoesnotatallcontradictwhatIhavesaidofourcommercetotheIndies：forheretheprodigiousdifferenceofclimatedestroysallrelationbetweentheirwantsandours。
5。OtherDifferences。Commerceissometimesdestroyedbyconquerors，sometimescrampedbymonarchs；ittraversestheearth，fliesfromtheplaceswhereitisoppressed，andstayswhereithaslibertytobreath：